Overall Rating: 8.25 Matt: 8.5 Eric: 8.0 Written by: Joss Whedon Directed by: Charles M. Smith Cast : Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. Guest stars : Mark Metcalf as The Master, Brian Thompson as Luke, David Boreanaz as Angel, Ken Lerner as Principal Flutie, Kristine Sutherland as Joyce Summers, Julie Benz as Darla, Eric Balfour as Jesse, Mercedes McNab as Harmony. A teenage boy breaks into Sunnydale High with his seemingly terrified girlfriend. As they sneak into the main corridor, she asks him if it's safe. When he answers that it is, she turns into full vamp face and bites him. Sunnydale High. A Jeep Cherokee pulls up, sixteen-year-old Buffy Summers in the passenger seat. Banished from her old school in L.A., her mother and her have moved to Sunnydale from L.A., hoping to leave Buffy¹s troubled past behind. Buffy turns many eyes, including those of skateboard-borne Xander Harris; she also succeeds in quickly making friends - Cordelia Chase loans her a book during her first class. Buffy ventures in the school library to fetch the books she needs, but the librarian, Rupert Giles, has other plans: he knows that she is the Slayer, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to hunt and kill vampires. He knows about her past because he is her new Watcher - the person whose destiny it is to train and guide Slayers on their path. Buffy quickly alienates Cordelia by making friends with shy, bookish Willow, and goofy but lovable Xander, who is instantly attracted to Buffy. When a student is found dead in a locker with bite marks on his neck and completely drained of his blood - Giles enlists a reluctant Buffy's help. A bewildered Xander overhears their conversation - Buffy's secret is out. Later, we see a vampire, Luke, confirming Giles' fears by kneeling in front of a pool of blood and saying, "The sleeper will awaken. And the world will bleed." On her way to the Bronze, Sunnydale's only worthwhile club, Buffy is followed by a mysterious stranger. He tells her she must be ready for the Harvest, and gives her a small cross. A bit stunned, Buffy continues on her way to the Bronze, where she meets Willow, Xander and his friend Jesse. She also encounters Giles, whom she tells about the dark stranger. Giles¹ training instinct kicks in as he asks Buffy to concentrate and try to sense if there are any vampires in the room. She does spot one, mainly because of his bad taste in clothes, and finds him talking to Willow and whisking her away. Alarmed, Buffy scrambles to pursue them in the dark alley, grabs a makeshift stake, turns a corner and attacks... Cordelia, who proceeds to call every one she knows to tell them that Buffy is indeed a freak. Back to the pool of blood, something breaks through the surface and rises: the demonic Master Vampire. He is hungry and weak, and asks Luke to bring him something young. Meanwhile, the badly-dressed vampire, Thomas, leads a spooked Willow to a mausoleum in the cemetery. There they are met by Jesse, Xander¹s friend, who's just been bitten by Darla, the vampire who killed the boy in the school. Buffy and Xander enter, and Buffy promptly kills Thomas. While an angry Buffy takes on Darla, ranting about how she just wanted to start a new life and be left alone, Xander and Willow lead a weakened Jesse out. Soon, however, Luke joins Darla in the fight and he proves to be almost too strong for Buffy, as he throws her around and she ends up flat on her back in a stone sarcophagus. She lays low silently for a few seconds, hoping that Luke is gone, but as she slowly sits up, Luke appears and pins her down, his fangs ready for the bite. Summary by OttsFiveByFive.